


Pretty Odd

by BLUSHINGBOYS



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal whisperer!Frank, Anorexic!Nico, Asthmatic!Hazel, Athsma, Bianca is alive!!!, Eating Disorder, Eventually I want to pair Nico with someone, F/M, Gen, Hazel's POV, I guess it's anorexia?, McDonald's Employee!Nico, There probably won't be any smut..., but who knows, but... she doesn't like Hazel, probably will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 10:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4345646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BLUSHINGBOYS/pseuds/BLUSHINGBOYS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hazel is a spoiled brat (in her eyes anyway. I’m pretty sure most of the other characters see her as some majestic angel) going to college while her other two siblings have to live on their own in a crappy apartment paid for with a McDonalds budget.</p><p>And then there’s Frank, the cute shy guy that never says a word… unless it’s to animals???</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pretty Odd

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time (officially) writing a fic. I’ve written other stuff with my own characters and thought about doing something with some faves, considering I’m in like a billion fandoms. I’ve only just now gotten around to it. With high school now over and no job (yet) I need something to motivate me to be slightly productive. So I guess we’ll see how long that lasts.

I wouldn’t say we lived under the best circumstances. The entire place is a tight fit, consisting of only one small bedroom, an even tinier bathroom, and the living room and kitchen have somehow burred together with some transparent line that only Nico can see.

Not to mention, everywhere I look I’m hit with an overwhelming flash of grey, which might have been white if my brother would have bothered to pick up a rag once and a while.

But no. Nico insisted on letting the sink drip at an annoying rate, turning a great bit of it orange with rust. The one time he actually tried to “fix” something was when the guy from upstairs crashed a ball through the kitchen window, and Nico just smacked several layers of duct tape over it. I can barely even see anything, given the lightbulb’s been out since before I left for school a couple months ago. Early rays of sunshine barely manage to sift through what glass is not covered, and actually intact for that matter. What little light coming from the hallway is not quite enough to let me see the stove as I wiggle one of the knobs, urging the darn thing to start.

“Nico!” I shout back towards the bedroom as I sling the fridge door open, allowing a little bit of light to hit the room. I balance the door on my hip, hoping I’ll be able to reach the stove as I try to mess with it a little more.

“Nico!” I call again, only moments before I see a small figure emerge from the shadows. You’d think he was the darkness himself if you didn’t know him. He dressed in all black, even now in his pajamas. There was a little yellow in his pants, being they were patterned with several variations of the batman symbol, but it made little difference towards his overall gloom.

Nico’s eyes are dark. Just like dad’s. But unlike dad, months of little sleep show up on Nico’s face, causing purple to cling around his lids. Not even the sliver of fridge light could give his eyes any shine.

Only now do I notice that Nico’s cheeks are starting to cave in again, too. I’d made sure to keep an eye on my brother over skype. He was always horrible at taking care of himself, so I’d taken on the job. But I guess I failed.

It was extremely easy to see how thin he’d become under the contrast of light and shadows. His hair had grown out of control and by the smell of things, he hadn’t showered or maybe not even done laundry in quite a while.

“You know how early it is?” he groans as he takes a hold of the fridge door. He opens it wider so I can get closer to the stove.

“Nice to see you too,” I joke. “How long has it been, three months? Four? Good to know you’re still as cranky as always.”

“Hey,” he mumbles. “If you had to spend your Friday nights at McDonalds, you’d be grumpy too.” A tired smile forms lazily on his pale lips, which I only catch for a split second through my peripheral. “What are you trying to do anyway, Hazel? Set the house on fire? God knows this place could really use it.”

“Ha. Ha. You just remember you said that when you’re homeless. And for your information,” I turn to face him, “I’m making pancakes.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Not here you aren’t. Piece of shit hasn’t worked in weeks.”

I knit my brows together. “Then how have you been eating?”

My eyes go wide as my stomach drops too far for me to pick it back up again. I try not to look like a gaping fish, but I know my jaw could really use a retrieval from the floor, but I’m too stunned to care. “You’re not-” I barely whisper, but it’s all I can manage before my voice stops cold.

His eyes turn to steel, arms crossing over his chest. His mouth parts slightly, about to break this chilled silence, but only before the fridge bulb flickers instantaneously. I’m only able to see his jaw tense one last time before we’re doused in darkness.

* * *

 

Fresh snow blankets the sidewalks, something only now that I’m unthankful for. Nico’s boots are worn and shredded with holes. He’s had them since high school, I think. Back when dad still bought him stuff. No doubt the tips of his socks are soaked to his toes by now. But I try not to think about that.

Instead, I focus on the road ahead of us, knowing I’d need to remember all the fancy short cuts and backways Nico was taking to make it seem less long. Even so, I find my eyes trailing back to my brother, unable to keep away from his thin stature, covered in even thinner clothing.

His aviator’s jacket is about in the same state as his shoes, except he’s seemed to have grown out of it. Even now as he shoves his hands into his pockets, his pale wrists turn red in the cold where they insist on being exposed.

Just below it are a pair of black jeans. He never seems to wear anything besides them other than his one pair of pajama pants. It makes me wonder if these, too, are solely worn.

Like I said, I really try not to focus on him, but he looks so cold. His exposed skin is bright pink and he’s shivering with every step, compared to me who’s totally fine all bundled up in my new winter clothes.

It’s times like this I regret not getting a car when I had the chance.

While I’m still staring at my brother, he shifts his footing to turn. My eyes widen as he twists his body my way, and I’m caught red-handed. His glare is unescapable. Something else he got from dad.

I gulp, ready for him to finally say something, anything since we left. But he quickly flashes his eyes away just before turning the corner.

I’m glued to the sidewalk, left alone for a couple solid seconds. I blink a few times. Then a few more. But I can’t seem to get my head around what just happened. Nico… he’s up to something. Or hiding something. Probably both. And knowing him, it’ll take a lot longer than just a couple weeks for me to break it out of him.

“Hey, wait up!” He doesn’t react. Just keeps on walking. “Nico!” I know I’m in earshot. What on earth is this boy’s problem?

Without even thinking, my feet kick off the ground and before I know it I’m chasing after him.

He wasn’t too far ahead. I could have just treaded at a brisk walk. But that was already out of the question. I was gaining on him now. Just feet away. And in no time too. But at what cost?

But of course. I know the cost. And it hits me as suddenly as it does every time, despite of my awareness.

My chest freezes. It feels like everything inside has just… stopped. I don’t have time to question if my body really has stopped functioning, because it’s in that moment that my insides tighten. I’m immediately pressed downward, but I’m nowhere near the ground. So much pressure is building on my chest, and it’s then that I realized that I’ve stopped moving. Surely I couldn’t go anywhere anyway with this invisible elephant of a hitchhiker.

I can’t breathe.

_I can’t breathe._

I open my eyes as wide as I possibly can, gulping in as much dry air as I possibly can. Then another. And some more.

So by now I should be better. By now I should breathe. But the air stings like poison and it seeps its way down my throat. I lurch forward, bent hunchback on the sidewalk. Cars zoom by and it’s the first time I not

ice them. I can’t see them, but I feel the wind the whips past my face, stabbing me where I was already wounded. I wonder if they even see me. But how could they not.

“Hazel.”

It cuts like a knife. But I’m not sure what it cuts. The air? Is it really that thick? Me? Are the words really that painful?

“Hazel, look at me!” Nico’s next to me… no he’s in front of me now. His tired eyes are practically radiating concern and I hope it doesn’t take as much energy as I know it does.

“Hazel, where’s your inhaler?”

I can feel where Nico’s hand is on my back and I wonder when was the last time I actually saw him worry. Then I wonder when was the last time I actually saw him care.

“R-right here,” I manage, pulling the piece of plastic out of my coat pocket.

Slowly, I let my eyes open again just in time to witness Nico soften his expression. The worry’s still there, but most of it seems to depart when he lets out a long, exasperated sigh.

“I swear Hazel… if you fucking forgot that thing at home…”

I hold the container to my lips, triggering to release the medication. I inhale gradually, all while darting wide eyes in every direction except for where Nico was.

“Hazel…?”

My eyes happened to be trained on the ground when I pull out the inhaler. “Actually…” My voice trails in a high pitch as I chew on my top lip for a brief second. “I don’t even remember bringing it here.” I lift my eyes up sheepishly, and if my face wasn’t already blooming bright red from the cold, it sure was now.

He makes some sort of low, annoyed noise, which I can only describe as a growl. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

I stuff the thing back in my pockets. “Sorry,” I say as I start to walk where Nico had turned back from.

“Sorry ain’t gonna fucking cut it,” he snarls as he continues forward, catching up to my side immediately. “You could’ve died,” he pesters. “Why the hell were you running after me anyway? You have eyes don’t you. You could see me. You could see I was fine. Could’ve just walked.”

I can’t help but to smile teasingly at him. Believe it or not, I miss seeing him get mad. I miss seeing him in general. I guess I’ll probably just spend my entire winter break soaking in every little moment with my brother before I won’t see him again for at least another four months.

With just a side glance at my grin, all he has to say is, “Shut up.” But it’s not quite as joking as I wish it was. Nor is it as angry as it could be. He’s just sort of slipping back into that deadpan default of his. And I hate it. I hate it so much. But there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s just… how Nico is, I guess.

“Oh! Nico!” I exclaimed.

He lifted his head in reply, just barely tilting it towards me. “Hmm?”

“I forgot to ask. How’s Bianca?”

He raises his brows for a slight second, but only after does he turn his head away and I can only assume that he is once again expressionless. “Fine.”

I bit my lip. “That bad, huh.”

“She’s the same, Hazel,” he says through gritted teeth. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“Oh. Okay. What about work?”

“S’ fine.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Surely something’s changed there, right? Any weird drive thru experiences? Ooh, or any cuties?”

He faces me, expression completely exhausted. “Can we not right now, Hazel. I haven’t slept since… well, yesterday, and I’m up right now because you just can’t live without out lightbulbs or something and you can’t get out your fancy smart phone to look up directions to the nearest Wal-Mart and-”

“Okay, I get it, grumpy pants. I’ll keep quiet.”

“Thank you.”

And it’s just us, in this darn span of silence, caved in with months of empty space to fill. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I know something’s wrong. And I know it has to do with me. But I can’t just ask him. I know him too well to expect anything other than insistent denial.

Maybe he thinks I can’t handle the truth. Maybe he thinks I’m too fragile, too weak.

“Hazel.” I raise my head slowly. NIco’s looking at me expectantly, his arms crossed over his brown aviators jacket. “Hazel, we’re here.”

I take note of the giant letters lining the entrance to Wal-Mart. I merely just give my brother and endless stretch of smile, before we both enter the department store.

We don’t say anything after that. Nico’s already pushed me so far away in just the couple of hours I’ve seen him, that I don’t think either of us could bare another word. We just sort of end up floating toward the electrical equipment section.

We’re facing rows of endless boxes of lightbulbs. Each one seems to be entirely different. Some are big, small, rounded, long, rectangular, or colored. I just end up drawing a blank. Thankfully, Nico would know exactly what we’re here for. He was a lot better with technology than I was.

I glance over at him, bent over near the shelves. He seems to be focused on a particular item. With his brows furrowed, he glares at the product, baring holes in it.

“Um, Nico? You find everything okay?”

He twists his head towards me. Dark eyes glaze over as his lids start to sink further down. “What the fuck is a lightbulb?”

I bite my lip, eyeing him questioningly. “You mean you don’t know what kind of light you need?”

He takes off a specific blue cardboard box from the shelf and shoves it in my face. “Look at this! Does that look normal to you!?”

I squint at the box, then at him. “Something doesn’t look normal, alright.”

He clenched his jaw. “Well, what the fuck are we going to do now? We came all this way for nothing, just because of your bad eyesight!”

“Uhh…” I mumble. It seems Nico could only hold up for so long before he just kinda… crashed. “I’ll go find an employee,” I offer. “You just… stay here,” I say, turning my back to leave. I glance back over my shoulder at the last second. “And sit down. Please.”

I make it just barely past the aisle before I see a blue vested figure from behind. “Excuse me?” I ask as I take a couple steps further.

The person turns, a huge toothy grin stretched across his face. His head is a mess of curly hair toppling over his brow. In one hand he’s holding a screwdriver, and in the other is a Starbucks cup.

“What can I do for ya, little lady?”

I arch a brow quizzically. “Um, first of all, don’t call me that.” He nods immediately, almost as if he’s heard that on more than one occasion. “But my brother and I needed some help finding the right lightbulbs.”

He makes a humming sound, in agreement I think. “I know what you mean. These days it’s like I can’t tell a 60 Watt 5000k Spiral CFL from a 60 Watt 6500k T2Sspiral CFL. Times are changing, you know.”

“Right,” I mumble. “Anyway, my brother’s over this way.” I lead him to where I left Nico, and sure enough, he’s curled up on the floor, his head resting on the sleeve of his jacket.

The employee looks at Nico with uncertainty, then back at me. “Sorry about that, miss. Seems there’s a homeless man in our way.” He then slides his screwdriver into his tool belt and sets his coffee on a nearby shelf. “Let me just take care of this,” He says while starting to roll up his sleeves.

“What _are_ you doing?”

The guy glances at me like it’s obvious. “Duh. I’m gonna move him out of the way.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I tried to warn him.

“No need to worry, I can handle this.” I shake my head in disbelief at this guy. “Okay… It’s your funeral.” I don’t think he quite heard me, though, as he started leaning forward and grapples on to Nico’s wrists.

At this point, I’m sure this guy is doomed. I’m proved right too. As soon as the Walmart employee starts trying to push Nico out of the way, said boy’s eyes flash open.

“Hey,” the curly hair guy baffles, “I know you.”

Nico just squints his eye before taking in his surroundings. “The fuck. Did I fall asleep in a Walmart again?”

I blink. “Again?”

“See,” the guy continues without even missing a beat. He pulls on his vest, from this angle I can’t tell, but he must be mentioning to his name tag. “It’s me, Leo!”

Nico’s eyes flicker, but die down immediately afterward a he brings himself to his feet. “Are you gonna get us some damn lightbulbs, or what?”

The guy, Leo, completely switches gears and starts going on different lightbulb preferences. 

Eventually after what seemed like hours of his nonstop chatter and several death threats on Nico’s part, we were able to figure out what kind of lightbulbs we needed and Nico was out of that lightbulb aisle before I could even turn back to the employee, Leo, giving him a quick thanks before turning to follow my brother.

“No problem!” Leo insists on beaming, as I twist my head over my shoulder to nod politely at his comment. “If you need anything else, another light bulb, look door hinge, maybe dinner or something, just get Nico to call me!”

I bite my lip at that, forcing an awkward smile. Did he just… ask me out? Or did he ask Nico out?

“Okay,” I hush, swooping out of their immediately afterwards.

Nico’s just a couple aisles down, leaning against a display, arms crossed against his chest. I catch up to him at a steady pace, knowing his glare would grow stronger if I chose to go any faster.

“Gee, that Leo fellow sure is… out there.”

Nico turns his back to me, starting towards the front of the store, boxes of lightbulbs in his grasp.

“N-not in a bad way!” I add. “He seems nice.”

“He said you had his number.”

Nico’s stops for a brief moment, eyes flashing over his shoulder, but he immediately reigns himself back in. He’s headed for the checkout now and I only sigh as I fall in line directly behind him.

“He said. He said to call if you need him. For anything.”

“Ngh,” he grunts.

He places his items down, grimacing as the cashier swipes them. “That’ll be 24.37.”

Nico fishes out a shabby piece of leather from his coat pocket. The edges are cracked and worn and so are the crumbled up bills as he unwads them from his wallet. His frown deepens as he hands them forward. I look closely, examining the two fives and a one.

I widen my eyes. “N-nico.”

His eyes are glazed forward, like he’s pretending not to notice the dirty look the cashier is giving him.

“Do you want me to get this?” I offer sheepishly.

The rise and fall of his chest quickens in pace and I can see his bony fingers tremble as they form into automatic fists.

I take that as my cue to step in. I flash a hesitant smile towards the cashier as I dig my card out of my back pocket. I swipe it flawlessly, allowing the cashier to hand me Nico’s money back. I hand it behind me as I pocket my card, but after several seconds, the cash hasn’t seem to budge and I glance beside me, Nico’s face is entirely scrunched up, dark eyes focused on nowhere in particular, but focused nonetheless.

Drawing in a quick breath, I stuff the money forcefully into my stubborn brother’s coat pocket. As soon as I’m done exchanging a few polite words with the cashier, I go to reach for the plastic bag of lightbulbs, but Nico snatches it up right in front of my face, turning sharply for the exit and I’m left with no choice but to follow obediently.

As soon as we’re outside, the air shifts a little. It burns the back of my throat, teasing at the edge of my lungs. Which of course is because of the weather and obviously my Asthma would explain the burning, but I get the sense that’s not all that makes the atmosphere suffocatingly uncomfortable.

Nico stops right outside of the store, in front of where sidewalk meets the parking lot’s pavement. “You didn’t have to do that, you know,” he sneers.

My teeth clamp down on my lip as I survey the parking lot cautiously. “Actually, Nico” I pipe up as politely as momentarily possible, “I kinda did.”

He swallows. “I could’ve handled it.”

Cars swarm past us now and I don’t even know what we’re waiting for. We weren’t even headed this way. Nico and I had come from the right of the store, but here we are, standing purposeless in front of a busy parking lot in the middle of December, our fingers frozen together, and our noses cherry red. The world is still moving around us, people bustling in and out. But he’s paused in time and it makes me wonder if I’d broken him more than I realized.

“Nico,” I coax dryly, “It’s just money.”

His hands shift slightly from where they’re buried in the pockets of his aviator’s jacket. A curt breeze snags at the end of his unruly bangs, whipping them across his forehead, still he refuses to budge.

“It’s just a couple of lightbulbs,” I add. “Plus they were really for me, right, since you have some sort of magical nocturnal vision, or echolocation, or whatever. So it’s fine if I-”

“No,” he urges through gritted teeth, “It’s not fine.”

I’m taken aback, not sure what to say and I- I can’t be the strong one. I can’t help him magically feel better. But is that even what he wants? What is he doing? Right here. In front of this Wal-Mart. In the midst of strangers and sheets of snow when he’s barely even wearing an under layer of clothes.

“You can’t just come here after leaving us on our own, Hazel. And then-” he snaps, jerking his head with a vicious jut in his jaw. “And then what!? You just flash out daddy’s credit card and you expect everything to be better!?”

That’s not what I thought. That’s not at all what I was doing. He knows that. He knows me. He know I don’t- He knows I wouldn’t-

“Know what,” he decides, “fuck it. You can find your own way home. I’m supposed to be sleeping now anyway.”

_What do you want from me? Blame it on him. Blame anything on him. But please. Please don’t take anything out on me._

Alas, none of that was said. I just… watch him dash away not even bothering to follow the movement precisely enough in hopes of copying it later. I don’t want to go home. Not now, anyway.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So... this chapter isn't even finished? I'm sorry! I'm just really behind on it. Like I started it months ago and haven't touched it til now??? So I'm just. Putting on here. And hopefully. I'll update it. Hopefully. Eventually Frank will be introduced. Probably in this chapter. But right now... there's still a lot that needs to be decided. So we'll see...


End file.
